About this project

$21,555

pledged of $21,000 goal

117

backers

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Several people have reported issues with backing: specifically, either Kickstarter or Amazon returns a technical error when you attempt to donate - some invalid token nonsense. A potential workaround is to use your browser in Incognito/Private Browsing mode.

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King Randall MCXXXVIII has just been crowned and has decided to throw a massive coronation party. You, playing as the Royal Treasurer, cannot allow the kingdom’s precious funds from being spent in such a frivolous manner, especially during such hard economic times; the King must be stopped!

King Randall’s Party is a side scrolling Terraria/Minecrafty tower defense game, with creative fortress building and intelligent AI thrown into the mix. But it is so much more than that! King Randall’s Party is truly unique – shifting the game from a top-down view to a side-view (like Mario) has changed the entire formula and made it into a much larger and more enjoyable game.

Enemies are no longer simple minded automatons – in order to deal with incredibly complex environments the enemy artificial intelligence has been leveled-up so that they can deal with a huge variety of different obstacles.

Positioning defensive emplacements has become a much more strategic choice – placing a Quill Shooter behind a wall might give it more protection, but putting it in front of wall will give it a clearer shot at the enemy.

Different enemy types traverse the environment in entirely new ways – Squires destroy walls, Engineers build ladders and bridges, Knights block arrows, and Mountain Woman climb over structures. Dealing with different enemy types will require completely different strategies, making every game a new challenge.

It will be first released on the PC. We really want to port it to Mac & Linux, so if we meet our stretch goal or it sells well on release I intend to port it over.

Defend the Treasury!

I started building King Randall’s Party because I loved the
creativity and freedom that games like Minecraft and Terraria provided me; both
of these games are about exploring the world, mining it for resources, and
using those resources to build amazing and creative structure. But what was
always lacking for me in those games was a sense of conflict. Building a castle
wasn't enough: I wanted it to be assaulted by rabid, undead elephants, crazed goblins,
orcs, and ninjas (always ninjas)! And not just suicidal, dumb enemies without
any smarts – no, I want SNEAKY enemies who will hide in shadows and jump out
when I least expect it! I want huge monstrosities of metal and mud which will
smash my walls with giant clubs! I want Engineers who can create elaborate
bridge and ladder structures to circumvent my carefully constructed defenses. Let
them crush themselves against the bulwark of my fortress, or maybe smash it all
to pieces in a glorious battle. Either way, it’s good fun!

Alas, putting all of these amazing features into a game
isn’t an easy process. The scale of what King Randall’s Party is aiming to
achieve is much larger than any simple tower-defense game. And that’s why I
need your help to fund this game – in order to work full time on King Randall’s
Party for the next six months, and to be able to afford the top quality
artistic talent necessary to breathe life into the world of King Randall’s
Party I need funding. I need generous folks like you to help make this game a
reality. To help give me a chance at getting away from the daily grind and to
be able to make great indie games that anyone can enjoy.

So I've got a really good head start going. You can begin a game and play a while - build structures, knock them down, lay traps, and establish defenses. Enemies will appear and try and get to your gold pile - they will attack what you have created, they will build bridges, place ladders, and shoot arrows. But it's just a start; I've got about six months of development left before I can consider the project finished and releasable. But alas, I can't fund the games development on my own - I'm already just barely scraping by. That's why I'm asking you to help me finish it by getting involved in the King Randall's Party community and donating to the Kickstarter project today!

You can head over HERE and download the very, very, SUPER early demo of the game right now. It's so early that it might not work for you, or it might crash, or maybe cause the world to explode. PC only.

Well, not everyone is as rich as the King. I need money to pay for artwork, music, and a few cups of ramen noodles to eat. Game development is expensive!

Most of the money will go into programming, with some going into artwork and music. Also, a portion will go toward fulfilling those excellent Kickstarter rewards you are going to get. Here is a chart showing how the money will be spent, including Kickstarter and Amazon's cut.

May change slightly during fulfillment (so images fit on the shirt, etc.) but not much.

Oh yeah, clothing to keep you warm!

Let's get them all!

Most of the rewards are self-explanatory, but I put together a chart to help you figure out which rewards you will receive at which support tier.

I really focused on providing creative and themed rewards for this Kickstarter campaign, so make sure to check them out and donate at one of those levels!

Crypt Dweller and Home Decorator Rewards Info

The way these two reward tiers work is:

I send you an outline of a grave or a house in the games visual style.

You draw in the details, or even just write down what you want to be there!

Send the drawing back to me, and my professional artist will finish the piece in the style of King Randall's Party.

By fulfilling the reward this way, this reward can be enjoyable to people of anyone who wants to have a direct input into the game's visual design, regardless of their artistic ability. It also allows me to maintain artistic cohesion between the background pieces and the rest of the game.

So please help and become a backer today!

Risks and challenges

I've made games for other companies, both in entertainment (working on Sid Meiers Railroads!, Civilization IV expansions, and Rise of Nations: Rise of Legends) and education for many years. This will be my attempt at breaking loose from "The Establishment" and making a cool indie title that, hopefully, lots of people will love and enjoy.

The biggest challenges in developing King Randall's Party are supporting myself while I code the game (Cup Ramen and Energy Drinks!) and finding and hiring quality contractors to produce the artwork and music for the game. That's why I need your help! I've coded enough to know I've got a handle on what needs to be done to finish the game, and I have several colleagues in the industry who are willing to finish up the artwork and music, but I need your help and funding to do both!

I'm very focused on producing a quality product that everyone can enjoy in a reasonable amount of time, so I want to make sure that I have enough to develop the game and to address all of the numerous bugs, compatibility, and other issues that will crop up directly after launch. It's important to finish the game, and also to make sure that everyone who purchased it has the best experience with it possible - free of technical glitches and party-stopping bugs.

So go donate now! Lend me your support! Get some awesome prizes! YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL!

FAQ

Typically XNA projects, which is the technology KRP is built on, aren't too hard to port over to Mac & Linux using Monogame. However, because I'm also building my game on-top of an Engine (the FlatRedBall engine), I have to port both the game AND the engine over to Mac & Linux, and there are extra costs associated with this. Thankfully I have access to the engine source code, and I'm friends and colleagues with the man who built the engine, so the cost is lower than it otherwise would have been.

So I'm aware that the cost here is higher than you might see in other video game projects, and that is one of the reasons I put it as the last stretch goal. But porting to Mac & Linux is something I feel strongly about - not only will it allow a whole new group of people to play the game, but it will also enable anyone else who uses the FlatRedBall engine to make their games for Mac & Linux. As FlatRedBall gains recognition and use within the indie community, the ability to quickly port to Mac & Linux from PC will be a very powerful asset.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $40 or more
About $40

NAMER OF NAMES

The King's troops have names. Perhaps... YOUR names! Donate at this level and one of the kings troops will have your name, and will be listed in the obituaries at the end of every level. (Limited to realistic, appropriate names).

You will also get to write a one-liner/obituary for the character, which will also appear next to that character on the victory screen.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $75 or more
About $75

CRYPT DWELLER

About 5 of the levels in King Randall's Party will take place in a Graveyard. Those graves are going to need some names on them! Could be yours... for a price. But it's not enough to slap your name on the gravestone - why don't you help us design it!?

You don't need to be good at drawing or design to enjoy this reward tier! Enjoyable for adults and kids. See the rewards section of the description for more information.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $85 or more
About $85

HOME DECORATOR

About 5 of the levels in King Randall's Party will take place in a Village. These houses are fresh off the production lot and need some personalization... a fresh, gamers touch. YOUR touch! Help design one of the houses that will appear in the village!

You don't need to be good at drawing or design to enjoy this reward tier! Enjoyable for adults and kids. See the rewards section of the description for more information.

Due to implementation cost, this reward is unique to this tier and the highest donation tier. See the rewards section for more information on how to purchase this reward if it has run out, or you want to donate at a higher tier and also receive this reward.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $100 or more
About $100

COLLECTOR'S COLLECTOR

Get the exclusive Royal Treasury Edition of the game! Play it, put it on your shelf. Rub it all over your belly if you want. I won't judge you (much). Comes with a lightscribed DVD copy of the game, and Official Soundtrack (if stretch goal met). This is a Kickstarter exclusive - no one else will ever get their hands on this.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $200 or more
About $200

PROJECTILE DESIGNER

Catapults can fling many things at the enemies. Sometimes it can fling enemies at the enemies. But what about... oh, I don't know. But maybe you do! Pledge at this level and you can work directly with me to design one of the projectiles that the catapult will throw. King Randall's Party is a humorous game, so there are a lot of options...

Due to implementation cost, this reward is unique to this tier and the highest donation tier. See the rewards section for details on how to receive this reward if we have run out or you are donating at another tier.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $250 or more
About $250

STYLIN!

Cover that beautiful body of yours... with our amazing King's Party t-shirt AND Gorilla Tactics Sweatshirt! You'll be enjoying all of the other amazing rewards you'll have, but you'll also look good doing it!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $500 or more
About $500

SUPREME PARTY-GOER

We will immortalize a portrait of you in the art style of King Randall's Party and provide you a high resolution digital copy. ALSO! Because that isn't enough, every time someone starts King Randall's Party, I will show a stylist splash screen with a random Party-Goer's stylized portrait, a personalized thank you message, and a message of your choosing!

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $750 or more
About $750

CREATOR OF WORLDS

Ever play a game and wonder, "It would be really cool if this game had a level in XYZ environment!" Well wish no more! Work directly with me to design the environment for several of the games levels to take place in (within theme and storyline limits). This is a really special reward tier, because everyone who plays the game will play levels in an environment that you had a direct hand in crafting.

Kickstarter is not a store.

Pledge $10,000
About $10,000

YOU ARE THE HERO

You're basically paying for half the game here. Let's be honest, this game is now partially about you. So let's not goof around - I'm gonna add you to the game as the protagonist. Everyone who plays the game will be able to choose if they want to play the original Royal Treasurer, or as a stylized version of you.
Shiz just got real.